Stars
by crazy-dreams
Summary: Luke. Lorelai. First Kiss. Short, Sweet, & Sappy.


**Title:** Stars

**Author:** crazy-dreams

**Summary: **Luke. Lorelai. First kiss. Short, sweet and SAPPY.

**Disclaimer:** These characters, unfortunately, are not mine. But I just read about the season finale trailer and my little javajunkie heart skipped a beat. If Amy wants to play nice like that, she can keep 'em!

**Author's Note:** Excuse any factual wrongness with regard to recent episodes. I'm from Australia, where they've just started showing the 4th season sporadically on Saturday nights. ::narrows eyes and growls at channel 9::

Okay, I've had the song 'Brighter than sunshine' in my head for the past three days, ever since I heard a woman on the radio asking for the name of the song by "the guy who sounds like Jeff Buckley but isn't." Then my boyfriend shows up on my doorstep and presents me with a rose for no apparent reason. It's fair to say that this fic will reflect my sappy mood. You have been warned. Wow, apologies for being so verbose, this is what a day stuck at home writing a lab report and drinking way too much coffee will do to a girl. Read on…

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**Stars**

_I wanna fall from the stars,_

_Straight into your arms_

_I, I feel you,_

_I hope you comprehend._

- Stars, Simply Red

He looks at her differently. And on some level, she realizes. Yet she dismisses the thought as ridiculous. The phrase 'just good friends' bounces through her head.

He tells her she looks beautiful. And she's suspicious, but maybe he's just a polite date.

He says her hair smells good. And she knows it's love. Exactly two men have whispered that same phrase to her before.

The first was Christopher, right before he first asked her out, hiding under the stairs while they should have been in French class.

The second was Max, right before they first made love.

And now Luke, right before he kisses her for the first time.

Something in her knows it's coming, but in some ways it's still a surprise. Because the knowledge hasn't quite progressed to that logical, internal discussion stage (or, in her case, illogical, melodramatic rant stage) yet. Her brain is yet to scream: "Warning! Friendship! Danger! Run!" Another part of her body that's definitely not her brain, has yet to interject with: "But, mmm, yummy Luke smell." There is no raging debate about whether this is a good thing or not, just acceptance of the faint background murmur telling her that it's finally time.

And it's always been there, but now it's bolder, like he doesn't want to hide any more.

But in her eyes he's a shy fifteen year old boy summing up the courage to kiss the girl for the first time.

"You'll get your dress dirty," he warns.

"I don't care."

They lie down side by side on the faintly sloping patch of grass, staring at the clear night sky.

"I feel like a kid," he says.

She giggles. "I know, isn't it great?"

"I had a good time tonight," he ventures.

"The night isn't over yet," she replies. "But dinner was lovely, thank you."

They lie in silence, attention drawn to the bright stars in the sky above.

"Look, it's a pirate ship," she declares.

"I don't see it."

"You have no imagination."

"I can see a heart," he offers.

"Where?" she asks.

"There," he points.

"I still can't see it," she complains.

"There." He takes her hand in his and points, joining stars together to trace a heart in the sky.

"I guess it depends what you want to see," she says softly.

He releases her hand and lowers his own to rest on his chest. She allows her hand to rest there beside his. His chest hitches, like he's somehow forgotten how to breathe.

He turns his head toward her and inhales deeply.

"Your hair smells good."

Warm breath tickles her ear. And she knows.

His head remains tilted, eyes fixed on her face. She continues to stare at the stars and wonders if she has a 'better side.' She hopes it's her right.

It unnerves her to feel him staring at her that way. As if he is almost willing her to turn her head so their lips can meet seemingly by accident.

But she won't. He's not the only one who's afraid.

The moments tick by and neither of them moves. Her arm on his chest feels his heartbeat quicken. His mouth opens, then closes, then opens again. He looks back to the sky.

"You know, we're lucky to live in a place like Stars Hollow. Just think, if we were in some big city we'd never be able to see all these stars…"

Lorelai starts to think that maybe she's wrong, and he isn't going to kiss her after all, but spend all night babbling on about the virtues of small town life. She almost considers asking him.

'Hello, Luke, do you think you might kiss me sometime in the next ten minutes, or do I have time to duck off for a bathroom break while you work up the courage?'

This nervousness thing was only cute for so long, after all.

She could always kiss him, of course. But the possibility of being responsible for the destruction of a decade-long friendship isn't a burden she's prepared to bear tonight. So she waits, passing the time by making a grocery list in her head. Tissues, nail polish remover, more of that apparently great-smelling shampoo, and… did I buy laundry powder last week? she wonders. She ran into Luke at the market that day, and he seems to have a freakish good memory for all things to do with her. She turns to ask. "Hey Lu-"

The words die in the back of her throat as he captures her lips with his.

He's kissing her. Damn. She knows it is coming and still she's allowed herself to be distracted by thoughts of laundry powder. His warm, and surprisingly soft, lips become more insistent and all such thoughts immediately leave her mind. And although on some level she may have seen it coming, she is completely unprepared for her reaction. This felt _good._

He was kissing her with equal parts passion and tenderness and she returned the kiss in turn. Better than good, this felt _right_.

Her eyes glaze over, so she closes them. Her brain feels foggy, so she closes it as well, focusing on nothing but the feel of his lips on hers.

He pulls away, breathing hard, and nudges her nose with his. She can feel him smiling against her mouth. She opens her eyes and finds herself staring intensely into his.

Wow.

She is fifteen again, and in love for the first time. Focusing all her senses on savoring the memory, Lorelai closes her eyes as their lips meet again.

And she sees stars.

_Let the rain fall, I don't care _

_I'm yours and suddenly you're mine _

_Suddenly you're mine _

_And it's brighter than sunshine_

- Brighter than Sunshine, Aqualung.

I cannot quite believe I am actually posting another Gilmore girls fic after all this time. ::blink:: I'd forgotten how much I hate fighting with ff.net about formatting. I give up, I'm going to accept less than perfection and go to sleep.

Let me know what you think.


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